NCIS: Relative Twist
by Vamprissqueen
Summary: When a little girl shows up at the NCIS building, she brings the most unreal claims, leaving the team to investigate. But when it takes some serious twists and turns, the members of Team Gibbs are tested in ways they never imagined. Rated M to be safe.
1. Prologue

**Greetings wonderul people! I'm back and trying out something new! Actually, I have to give half of the credit for this to my little sister, Nicole (we call her Nikki). We created the plotline for this story while taking a walk this summer! Yay Nikki!**

**Anyhoo, I have been completely obsessed with NCIS of late, so I figured I'd give writing a fanfiction about it a shot. (I even went as Abby for Halloween and everyone said my costume looked just like her, but that's beside the point...)**

**So, without further adeiu, here's what I like to call...**

**NCIS: Relative Twist**

**Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, though that would be freakin' amazing if I did! **

* * *

**Prologue**

The little girl ran through the streets, slipping in the soaked road as she tried to maneuver her way through the thick rain. She looked behind her, but she couldn't tell if the man was still following her. She clutched the black bag tightly to her small body as she tried to locate some method of transportation. A taxi, bus, old lady about to get in her car, anything!

Unfortunately for her, however, no one really went out on this kind of night. A downpour of rain and cold wind wasn't really inviting for any person of any size. Not to mention, at this time, she was lucky to even find a police officer roaming the streets.

If her mother or father could see her now, she would probably get such a large scolding, it wasn't even funny. After all, she was running blindly through the city in the middle of the night. Not exactly the safest thing to be doing now, was it? But she figured that, since it was so cold and rainy, not even the scariest figures would be lurking about. Even they would be tucked away somewhere, safely out of the cold. Her biggest trouble would probably be homeless people, and they didn't even have money to buy a gun or anything.

She looked back, but still couldn't tell if the man was behind her. She didn't know if that was good or bad. Maybe she should have found somewhere safe to hide until the storm blew away. But it was too late for that; she was already in town. Now all she needed to do was find someone who was able to get her the heck out of here.

She knew where she needed to go, and had a basic idea of how to get there. However, she was way too young to drive, and there was no possible way she would ever be able to get there on foot. There was enough money in the black bag she carried to pay for bus ticket there, she knew, but the problem was she didn't see any buses in sight, or bus stops for that matter.

All of a sudden, as she turned a corner, headlights flashed in front of her, momentarily blinding her. She threw up her arm to shield her eyes and skidded to a stop. She didn't know if the car in front of her was a friend or a foe. She turned and tried to run, but slipped in the rain-soaked sidewalk. She heard a car door open and footsteps sloshing about in the rainwater behind her. She began to panic and run as fast as she could, slipping and sliding all the way.

Unfortunately for her, however, whoever was tailing her was faster. They caught up to her almost instantly, and she felt a hand grasp her right arm near the elbow. Her arm was wrenched away from the bag she held so tightly, but she managed to hold onto it with her left arm. She screamed and flailed her right arm wildly, trying to break free from the grasp of whoever it was behind her.

"Hold on there!" she finally heard a voice say, most likely belonging to the person behind her, even though she couldn't be certain with the wind howling around her. "Easy, little girl," the person, definitely male, said again. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

She turned her head, finally getting a look at the man behind her. She recognized the uniform instantly and her mind calmed down in relief. The police officer let go of her arm as she stopped struggling.

"Mr. Policeman!" she cried above the howling wind. "You have to help me! There's this man chasing me and I don't know what he wants but I need to get to—"

The officer held up his hands. "Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. I can barely hear you."

"Can you drive me somewhere?" she yelled as loud as she could. She could barely see the man nod.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Are you trying to get home?"

"Kind of, sir," she answered as she followed the man back to his car. He opened the back door of the police car for her and held it open against the wind. She quickly slid into the back seat, not exactly happy with the fact that she was soaking wet.

The officer climbed into the driver's seat. "That's better," he said, smiling kindly. He glanced back at her through the mirror. He shut his door and put the car in drive. It started rolling down the street.

"I'm sorry about this," the little girl said. "I can pay you for driving me when we get there."

"No, there's no need for that," the man told her. "But it would be helpful if I knew where it was I was driving."

"Oh, sorry," she felt foolish, forgetting to tell him where after all that. "Um, I'm trying to get to D.C."

"D.C.?" the officer repeated, trying to hide the shock in his voice. "That's a long way from here. Why do you need to go there? You must live around here."

"I did," she said sadly, "but I don't…can't anymore. I need to get to the only family I have left."

"And where would you be able to find that in Washington D.C.?"

"Easy. At the NCIS building."

* * *

**So, what'd ya think? I know, these days you can't even trust a cop, espeically in big cities, and especially if they are of the male gender (no I am not sexist! It's just how things are!), but she's a little girl so she wouldn't know. And she's kind of desperate right now...**

**Okay, thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy day to read this little spheal here! And an even bigger thanks to my reviewers! **

**THANKIES! ^,^**

**- Lex**


	2. Chapter 1

**Okay, I'm sorry for such a LONG time I took writing this up. To be honest, I had some trouble with how I wanted to word half of this. I'm pretty satisfied now with it, so I hope you enjoy it. **

**But I must say that, in my defense, I have A LOT on my plate right now. I'm in my school's musical again (which has taken TONS of my time). I'm also taking an online Japanese class I'm behind in, so that is making me work VERY HARD to catch back up. Not to mention I am in various clubs that are making me go to all their events so I'm out every weekend. --sigh-- I'm lucky this is midwinter break or else I probably wouldn't have found any time at all to even attemp to update! So be grateful! I still in this for you guys! ^,^ **

**Oh, and you wanted to know who she was related to? Well, you're about to find out!**

* * *

"_D.C.?" the officer repeated, trying to hide the shock in his voice. "That's a long way from here. Why do you need to go there? You must live around here."_

"_I did," she said sadly, "but I don't…can't anymore. I need to get to the only family I have left."_

"_And where would you be able to find that in Washington D.C.?" _

"_Easy. At the NCIS building." _

**Chapter 1**

Very special agent Anthony DiNozzo felt pretty good about the day so far as he strode out of the elevator carrying his free Caf-Pow! in his right hand. Not that he drank that stuff, though. In fact, he wouldn't have gotten it if it hadn't have been free. He figured he'd just give it to Abby, get on her good side in case he needed a favor or something later on.

Regardless, however, he stepped into the familiar room with a larger-than-life smile on his face. There were so many agents already hovering around, anxiously awaiting for what today would bring them. Some sat at their desks, typing away at their computers, probably finishing paperwork they forgot about, or just ignored, last night. Others were chatting over coffee and donuts, waiting for their boss, or perhaps their Senior Field Agent, to arrive and tell them what to do. And still more seemed quite busy, jetting down the hallways carrying files for different sections of the building or bags filled with gear, heading off to a crime scene.

Tony shifted his own bag, making sure not to spill the Caf-Pow!, and took in the busy scene with that smile still on his face. Then, he searched that oh-so-familiar section of the room, the area in front of the giant glass window, blocked by short grey dividers on two sides, for the members of his own team. Well, it wasn't really _his_, but he was Senior Field Agent so he felt he did have some authority over them.

Sure enough, he could clearly see a head of long black hair over the edge of the closest divider: Ziva David, sitting at her desk. And on the other side…yep, there was McGee, hunched over his computer, fingers whirling away on the keyboard. No sign of Gibbs, but that was normal.

Tony made his way towards them, giving the blonde probationary agent he passed a genuine DiNozzo smile before stepping into the workplace of Team Gibbs.

"'Morning Probie, Ziva," he said cheerfully, plopping his bag down beside his desk, which sat across from Ziva. The Israeli-born woman glanced up at him briefly, her dark eyes betraying signs of a late night of work. He wondered absently how long it had been since she even got up from her desk.

"Why do you have…?" Her facial features changed into a quizzical stare and she gestured to the Caf-Pow! with an olive-colored hand.

"It was free," Tony informed her, the smile still on his face. "Figured I'd give it to Abby…you know, in case I need something later."

Ziva gave a little nod, and turned her dark, tired eyes back to her computer screen. Tony watched her for a minute, half expecting her head to drop onto her desk from exhaustion. When that didn't happen, he turned his entire chair to the right, watching Timothy McGee. He seemed equally as tired, plucking away at his computer keyboard with less than half interest.

With a smirk, Tony stood up for his chair, figuring he'd lighten his mood. He waltzed over to McGee's desk and stood right behind his computer. Well, okay, so he was most likely only succeeding in annoying McGee rather than lightening his mood, but to Tony, that was one of the best parts of his day!

"Go away, Tony," McGee said without bothering to look up from his computer. It wasn't what Tony was going for; McGee simply sounded tired or bored, with hardly a hint of irritation.

Tony narrowed his eyes, thinking. Then, with a smile once again on his face, he slid the Caf-Pow! from side to side, letting the ice rattle against the plastic sides of the oversized cup.

"Tony…" McGee said warningly, his voice betraying a thick layer of annoyance this time.

And Tony responded by shaking the Caf-Pow! even harder. Then, he switched the drink from one hand to another, back and forth, back and forth. It was turning into a little dance. His smile widened.

With an irritated sigh, McGee looked up from his computer, practically glaring at Tony. "I'm trying to work."

"Lighten up, McGeek," Tony told him, ceasing his dancing. "It gets you through the day."

"Right," McGee said, less than half-interested.

Tony held out the Caf-Pow! "Now, be a useful geek and take this down to Abby." He stopped for a second, frowning. "On second thought, don't. She'll think you got it for her. Continue with your geek work!" He would take the drink down to the Goth forensic scientist himself.

McGee rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Tony."

Tony started off for the elevator. "Keep working, Probie!"

"I'm not Probie anymore!" McGee fired back.

Tony turned and smiled as walked backwards. "You'll always be Probie to me, Probie."

"What about Ziva?"

Ziva looked up at McGee, but just shook her head and glanced back at her screen, too tired to respond. Tony smiled and stepped back into the elevator.

"Ziva's Probie too!" he laughed as Ziva's head whipped up again, this time her dark eyes glaring at him, though it was a weak glare due to how tired she looked. It also took her a moment to respond.

Unfortunately for her, however, he missed it. The elevator doors clicked shut just as Ziva opened her mouth. Chuckling to himself, he pressed a button on the panel and began his descent to the domain of the gothic scientist. This was going to be a good day.

* * *

She glanced out the window as the car pulled up to the brick building. The sign confirmed it: she was at the right place. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. NCIS.

_Here goes nothing_, she thought to herself as the car came to a stop. She reached towards the door handle.

"Would you like me to take you inside?" the police officer used the mirror above him to glance back at her.

"That's okay," she said quickly, before his hand could even reach for his own door handle. "I know my way already…but thanks for the offer…and for driving me." She smiled and, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, stepped out of the car. At least it had dried during the ride. Actually, it was good that ALL of her dried off during the trip.

The officer rolled down his window. "You take care of yourself," he smiled. "Try not to stay out when a storm's coming."

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson," she smiled back, heaving her black bag over her shoulder. She hoped the water hadn't soaked everything inside.

"All right," he said. "Good-bye, and I hope you find who you're looking for here."

She nodded. "Good-bye, sir. And thanks again!"

The officer returned the nod and rolled up his window. She gave him a little wave good-bye and watched as he drove off down the street. Then, she turned her gaze back to the building and sighed.

This was it…

* * *

The pounding music reached his ears before the elevator doors had even opened. He walked through the doorway, arm behind him, hiding the Caf-Pow! from view.

"Abby!" he shouted above the music, getting the woman in the white lab coat's attention. She turned, black pigtails swishing around with her movement. Two dark eyes stared at him, confused as to why he was venturing into her lab so early on in the workday. Her head cocked, almost bumping into the spikes jutting out of the black dog collar around her neck.

"Tony?" He could barely hear her voice above the screaming music (and it really was scream music, not just because it was loud, but because that's all the singer was doing as well). He wished she would turn it down a little bit.

As if she had read his mind, she reached next to one of her computers and grabbed a remote off the table. She clicked a button and the music toned down a little. But only a little.

"That's better," Tony said.

Abby had that face she got when she figured she missed something big. "Why are you here? There hasn't been a case yet. I haven't gotten a call from Gibbs and—"

"Abby, there isn't a case…yet," he cut in. "I just came to give my favorite forensic scientist something special!" He pulled the Caf-Pow! from behind his back.

Abby's eyes lit up a little. Wait, why only a little? "Tony! Thank you!" she took the Caf-Pow! quickly, heading over to her fridge. "I'm stocked up for later!"

"Huh?" Tony moved so that he could see the fridge…and the two Caf-Pow!'s already inside it. McGee and Ziva. It had to be them! Well, maybe just McGee. Ziva seemed too tired to have even left the building at all. Or maybe McGee went out and got them both. Maybe he bought one and got the other free. Or maybe—

"Tony?" Abby's hand flying in front of his face brought him back to reality. "Thank you. Really." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Then, pulling away, she continued on, "I didn't mean it to sound like it didn't appreciate you coming all the way down here and giving me a Caf-Pow!, even though I know that you probably got it for free, but still—"

"Abby," Tony cut her off again. "I need to get back upstairs before Gibbs shows up with a case to see that his Senior Field Agent isn't there."

"Yeah, that probably would not be a good thing…"

"No, not at all." Tony headed back towards the door, not really thinking about that scenario. His main thoughts were the many ways he could kill McGee. "Enjoy your Caf-Pow!"

"Thanks Tony!" That was all he heard before the music cranked back up, blocking all other sounds from Abby's lab. Then, he was in the elevator again, heading back up.

* * *

She sighed and stepped through the front entrance. She took in the place and twirled around a few times. This was the part that she realized she hadn't really put much thought into. She had no idea how she was going to find him in this place. The building was HUGE…with so many floors…it would take her days to search all of them. How were you even supposed to find someone in this place anyway?

_Great,_ her thoughts growled. _Did you even THINK this through? NOW what are you gonna do? You don't exactly have days…let alone weeks…to search this place. So now what, smart one? Grr…I didn't come all this way for nothing. _

She sighed. Yes, she was stupid. She should have thought about this on the ride there. But no, she had fallen asleep instead…

_Huh. You think they'd have a map or something_, she wondered. She took a few minutes to glance around, hoping that she would see one of those large signs, like they had in the zoo.

_Could always ask the lady at the counter, but like she knows everyone by name. Still, she may be able to look him up on those computers…maybe find out where he worked and then tell her how to get there…_

She was just about to head up to the lady and ask her if she could help her, when she felt the presence of someone behind her.

Then, a male voice asked, "Are you lost or looking for someone?"

* * *

When the door dinged and opened, Tony was stuck between drowning or a simple strangle. All other ways seemed like too much trouble to bother with on McGee.

He grit his teeth when he saw them; they were laughing. Well, actually McGee was the one laughing. Ziva seemed to tired, but she still betrayed a smirk. Which, of course, meant only one thing: they knew that he knew that he wasn't the only one who decided to give Abby an early gift.

"So," McGee leaned back in his chair and watched him with a smile as Tony crossed over to his own desk. "Did you get a hug for yours?"

Tony shot him a glare and sat down in his chair. "Laugh all you want, McGee. But yes, I did get a hug."

McGee seemed amused. "What? No insults? No comments back?"

Tony turned his gaze to his computer. "Nope."

"Well, this is a change of pace for you."

"I would not get your hopes up, McGee," Ziva's smirk was directed at Tony, even as she spoke to McGee. "He is probably just trying to act as our Senior Field Agent…maybe to look good in front of Gibbs, though he is not here." Her tone of voice was dripping in mockery, just itching for Tony to fire back a reply.

"Where is he?" Tony asked instead, using the opportunity to steer clear of the conversation McGee looked like he was ready to jump back into. "He should have been here by now…even if he got coffee…"

"I'm right here DiNozzo," the familiar voice said rather monotonous and sure enough, Leroy Jethro Gibbs rounded the divider near Ziva's desk, coffee in hand. He didn't stop, but continued walked until he was at his own desk, across from McGee's. That was when he spoke again, "And you have a visitor, DiNozzo."

"What?" Tony's head whipped around to gaze at him, but Gibbs nodded his head towards the front. Tony's gaze shifted to his left and it was then that he saw the little girl with the black bag slung over her shoulder. She was glancing around at everything. He could see Ziva out of the corner of his eye shift her gaze too, and he was pretty sure he didn't need to see McGee to know that he was looking at this newcomer as well.

The girl finally rested her gaze on him and cocked her head, as if she was trying to recognize him. Then she smiled at him through a set of dark chocolate eyes and waved her free hand, the one that wasn't holding onto the bag.

But her words took him completely by shock.

"Hiya Uncle Tony."

* * *

**Ooh! Didn't see that coming did ya?! Well, actually, from the way I worded it you probably figured she was related to Tony, but y'all probably thought she was his daughter! Hahaha! Think again! MUAHAHAHA!**

**Oh, and the skit with Tony shaking the soda in front of McGee, that was based on something that happened to me and my younger sister Danielle (we call her Dani; and yes, I have two little sisters and both are younger, but Dani is older than Nikki)! She had gotten a slurpee and I was sitting on the couch on my laptop (actually writing this story). She just randomly came up and started shaking it in front of me, doing the little dance and everything. My reaction was McGee's. Haha! **

**But for those of you who, by some magical beyond-this-world reason, managed to figure that out, then, by all means, you deserve an apple! Munch! ^,^**

**Also, those of you who review, thank you! Those of you who don't, please, honor my usage of time with a brief--or lengthy if you'd like--review of my work! I appreciate all so much that I will give CARAMEL apples to all who review! Yay!**

**May you all be cheered by raining apples on your worst days!**

**- Lex**


	3. Chapter 2

**DON'T HATE ME! I'm SO sorry that I have taken this long to post but I've been REALLY busy. End of the year is coming up and we all know how busy that gets! But thankfully, I've found time to write this much! ^_^**

**So, here you are! The next installment of NCIS: Relative Twist! (By the way, I hope you all have caught on to the name now! ^_^)**

**Disclaimer: The day Lexi owns NCIS will be the day it rains apples. **

* * *

_But her words took him completely by shock._

"_Hiya Uncle Tony." _

**Chapter 2**

All he could do was stare blankly at her.

The girl sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. "Do I have to repeat it again?"

"Yes, please," Tony managed, his mind whirling.

"Okay. Last year, MY grandmother fell in love with YOUR dad. They dated for the longest time and finally he asked her to marry him. She said yes, it was so romantic, it took forever to get ready, blah blah blah. And then, the wedding was over the summer, but Gran—er—your dad told us that he didn't want to bother you because he knew you had some important case. So, they kinda got married without you and I got a Grandpa and an Uncle out of it!" She smiled proudly at him, though there was a hint of uncertainty in that grin.

Tony just stared incredulously at the girl. They were both sitting in the conference room. Well, she was sitting. Tony had just recently taken to pacing back and forth, trying to comprehend what she was saying. This was actually the first pause he had taken in the past fifteen minutes of this little process.

At his silence, she rolled her eyes. "Bottom line: I'm your niece…by marriage, at least, and we've never met before. But don't worry! Grandpa told me all about you!"

He sighed. "Can you please not call him that?"

"Well he IS my grandpa now…"

"Yes, but he's also my DAD."

"Which is why you're my uncle," she smiled the kind of smile that had no reason to form.

A silence settled in as Tony resumed his pacing. Everything was still taking time to settle into his head; it all seemed so incomprehensible. Only a few minutes ago, he had been conjuring ways to kill McGee after the whole Caf-Pow! fiasco, and now, he was a little girl's uncle! That stuff just didn't happen in the course of fifteen minutes! Or so he had thought…

"Can you stop pacing, Uncle Tony? You'll wear a hole in the floor."

He turned to the girl again, clasping his hands together in thought. "How did you know where to find me?"

She laughed. "Well that's a silly question, Uncle Tony. Grandpa said you were a little ridiculous sometimes—he blamed it on the whole cop business—but I really didn't think this much…I thought you were good at this intuitive, investigative stuff?"

Tony averted his gaze, holding back his retaliation and instead waiting peacefully for her to finish. After all, he had only just met her. Though, it sure didn't take her long to figure out how to get under his skin…

She rolled her eyes at him again. "You're no fun. But if you're honestly wondering, Grandpa told me you were with NCIS in Washington D.C. So, I just Google'd it and got the location. It wasn't rocket science, Uncle Tony."

"Stop calling me that!" It seemed Tony wasn't able to hold it in after all. Quickly, he resumed his pacing and the girl shut up, slightly taken aback by his sudden outburst. He didn't mean to yell at her, but it was just too much. He felt like his head was going to explode. It was all too new…too fast…he wasn't ready…

"Sorry…" she said quietly, looking down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap.

Tony glanced at her and sighed inwardly. "No…forget it…I'm sorry. This is just…you know…"

"New? Overwhelming? Happening too fast?" the girl suggested, raising her head back up to look at him, another small smile plastered onto her face.

"Yeah," he nodded, rubbing his temples.

"And I suppose it didn't help that I came here without warning and just threw all this at you, huh?" she gave him a sympathetic smile, and Tony tried to smile back, but he was sure it didn't look like one at all.

"Well, I can leave you alone right now to get a grip on all this?" she offered. "I could go meet the rest of your team. I've already met Gibbs! He's so cool! He's your boss, right?" She was already up and walking around the edge of the table.

"Right."

"And I can't wait to meet the other members! There was a girl in the room before, so then is she on your team too? But is she the only girl because that really isn't fair…and what about the other guy? He seems like a computer geek. Is he? Does he know how to hack and all that stuff? Do you think he could show me? And is there—?"

"All right, all right!" He cut her off, holding his hands up. She was spitting out questions so fast Tony was sure his brain was threatening to shut down permanently. "I'll take you to…meet the rest of the team."

"Really?" she cried, eyes widening. "Thank you, Uncle Tony…er…" She faltered, looking at him curiously. "What should I call you then?"

"Uh, just call me Tony, ok?"

The smile was back. "Sure thing, _Tony_!" she was practically squealing with excitement, bouncing back and forth. "This is gonna be so awesome! I'm gonna get to see where you work! Can you show me _everything_? "

"Sure, okay, I'll take you to see_ everything_…" He moved towards the door on autopilot, mind still whirling, with the young girl in tow.

"Oh, wait! I almost forgot!"

"Hmm?" He turned back to look at her.

"I'm Kayla!" She smiled up at Tony with a face of pure adoration. Tony extended his hand with the intention of shaking hers, but she suddenly threw her arms around him in as large of a hug as she could. He looked down at her, not really knowing how to respond, but he finally settled with hugging her back.

"It's great to finally meet you, Tony," she smiled, pulling away from him and turning back towards the door of the conference room.

"Yeah…same here…" And already, he kind of was glad this was happening to him.

* * *

"Have you ever hacked into other computers? Do you guys even do that here or is that bad guy stuff? 'Cause, I have to say, I've seen it on a LOT of movies! I was just never sure if cops were allowed to do that…"

Tony shook his head and tried to get back to his work, which was as much of a failure as attempting to block out all of Kayla's questions. At least they were not directed at him this time.

"Oh, I get it! You can't tell me this stuff, can you?"

"I'm not supposed to," McGee answered. Tony was almost surprised that he didn't hear a single drop of annoyance in his voice. Either McGee was really good at hiding it, or he simply wasn't bothered by Kayla's questions. Maybe he liked the attention…or maybe he was just good with kids…

_That's the biggest joke of the day_! Tony laughed inwardly at the thought and instantly put it out of his head.

"That's okay! I totally get it! This is, like, super secret stuff here, right? That's so cool!" Kayla's voice was bouncing with excitement. It matched her inability to sit still, as she was suddenly up and dashing across to Ziva's desk. "Do you know karate? You seem like the kind of person that would know how to really beat someone up…which is a super good thing 'cause then no one'll mess with you! And plus you're a girl and you don't see too many of those that know how to really kick a guy's butt!"

Ziva's mouth spread into a small smile as she looked at the girl. "That is true."

"Have you ever beaten McGee or Uncle—I mean—Tony?"

Tony lifted his head, interested to hear Ziva's response. But she merely smiled and whispered something in Kayla's ear, keeping a pointed gaze at Tony the entire time. Kayla burst into a fit of giggles. Tony's gaze tightened and he pretended to get back to his work.

"Where are you from?" Kayla's questions suddenly continued. "I don't mean this offensively, but I can tell you're not American—or, at least, American-born."

"No, once again that is true. I am from Israel."

"Woah, really? Isn't that the small country that kicked major butt against, like, ALL other countries around it after they took turns attacking it because they didn't like that it was formed in the first place?"

"Yes, that would be Israel." Ziva's brow curved, and Tony felt his own rise as well in surprise at the extent of knowledge Kayla possessed.

"And it's a Jewish country…so does that mean you're Jewish?"

"Yes, it does."

"Oh, but I don't mean that in a bad way at all either because I actually find other religions fascinating. I'm Christian, but that doesn't stop me! Not really into my religion anyway…but I'm particularly interested with Hinduism at the moment."

Ziva's smile widened and she watched Kayla, nodding, as the girl rattled off facts about the Indian religion.

Tony, on the other hand, took a moment to watch the two. Kayla was obviously excited, almost bouncing off her seat as she continued her description. And Tony was surprised to see Ziva was actually listening with interest at what Kayla was saying. Her eyes had lost the tired look that they had before; replaced with something that Tony just couldn't quite put his foot on. And she was smiling at Kayla in a way that he hadn't really seen before. It was an affectionate smile…fondness, maybe?

"Don't you think so, Un—I mean—Tony?" Kayla's voice, now directed at him, suddenly snapped him back to reality.

"Huh?"

"I was just telling Ziva that I think she's really pretty. Don't you think so, Tony?" Kayla's smile was of pure innocence, but Ziva now watched him with an amused grin.

"Uh…" he stuttered. How was he supposed to answer that? They were both staring at him now, expecting him to answer. "Sure…yeah…" he answered finally, averting his gaze back to the computer screen. But, he still saw Ziva's smirk grow and her eyes flicker with pure amusement at his distress. He groaned inwardly and wondered just how long he would be regretting speaking at all.

And Kayla's next words did not help the matter. "Don't worry," she said to Ziva, just loud enough for Tony to hear too. "He's just embarrassed because I put him on the spot." She began giggling like the little girl she was again and Tony was already imagining how Ziva would hold this against him. He could hear McGee snort with suppressed laughter from off to his right. Boy, he was _never _going to live this down…EVER.

"Grab your gear." Never had Tony been more pleased to hear Gibbs speak. The man rounded the divider, still carrying the coffee from earlier. "Body in Norfolk."

As always, Gibbs was heading towards the elevator even before he had finished speaking, having already grabbed what he needed. His team, on the other hand, was a little slower. McGee was the first to bounce up, pack slung over his shoulder, and dash towards the elevator after him. Ziva took a little longer, gathering her pack, but soon she was up and heading out as well. Tony stood to follow, but found his path blocked by the young brunette with dark eyes and an eager expression on her face. He glanced down at her, and couldn't help but feel his mouth twitch into a small smile.

"Can I come with you? Please?"

"No way. This is a crime scene, not something little girls need to see."

"Aw," Kayla pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're starting to act like an uncle should. That's not fun!"

Tony couldn't help laughing. "Well then I guess I'm doing something right."

"But if you guys are all going off, where am I supposed to go? I can't just sit here alone! What if someone kidnaps me!" She stopped for a minute and looked around her, reminding herself of all the cops in the room. Tony simply raised his eyebrows at her, a smirk starting to form.

"I don't think that will be a problem, Kayla."

"But still! What if I ran away!"

"Would you?"

"Well…no…but I'll be bored! There's no one to talk to here! And it could be _hours_ before you guys are back and what am I supposed to do to entertain myself? There's not even any TV here! Well there is, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to use it to watch cartoons! And they'd probably kick me out if they saw me downloading computer games to play on the computers…and then I—"

"Kayla—"

"—would have nothing to do! And what if I get hungry! Then what am I supposed to do? Starve? I may as well—"

"Kayla—"

"—just go sit in an overheating car! At least I could people-watch! That wouldn't be as boring as—"

"Kayla!"

She ceased her rushed speech and glanced at him, blinking.

"You're not going to be bored, you're not going to starve, and you won't get taken by anyone. I'm going to take you down to meet Abby. I'm sure with her, you'll have too much fun. And if you're lucky, she may give you a Caf-Pow! since she seems to have extra." Acting instinctively, he took the girl's hand and led her to the back elevator. He'd better make this quick or Gibbs wouldn't be too pleased. He might even get fed up and drive off without him. That wouldn't turn out very pleasant.

Kayla gripped his hand, but frowned as she followed him. "Who's Abby? And what's a Caf-Pow!"

* * *

**Okay, what did you think? I personally loved writing this chapter and thought that there were some really cool family bonding scenes between Kayla and Tony! ^_^ BUT, don't let this throw you off. Remember, she still hasn't told him the reason she's here...ALONE...but that's my only hint at what's coming up! Teehee!**

**But now I actually have something serious to ask you all about...you see, something has been REALLY pissing me off and I want to know what you guys think and what you would do. I've ranted in one of my others stories about it, but would like some words of wisdom from you guys now too. Okay, here I go.**

**My two friends are "dating." I put this is quotations because, according to one, they aren't, even though they CLEARLY act like a couple (I've seen them make-out at dances before, and yet she tries to tell me they AREN'T dating). I thought, at first, that this was just because she was being weird, but it turns out that the real reason is because she's GOING AFTER ANOTHER GUY! WHILE she's doing all this stuff with my friend! Is that insanely horrible of her to do or what? It's cheating--she's cheating on him! I mean, my friend loves her to death and would do anything for her. And he doesn't cheat on her. Oh, and the best part: she's told this to his face. She's told him, "Yeah, you know we aren't really dating because I'm going after another guy." How bitchy of her is that? I couldn't believe it when she told me this! Because somehow, she has it justified in her head! And I know that my friend isn't doing anything about it because he is head-over-heels in love with her. But shouldn't he do SOMETHING. I mean, he doesn't deserve this! He's probably the LEAST deserving person of this in the world! **

**So yeah, that's what's going on and I don't know what to do and I really don't want to see him hurt...what do you faithful readers think?**

**- Lex**


	4. Chapter 3

**Oh my GOSH! I am SO late with this update! (Hey look! I rhymed!) Ack! Getting off topic!**

**Anyways, I really DO apologize for being so late! I'm SOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYY!**

**It was all school's fault...and Bleach...and Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged...and my friend Dyna...and my sister...and anything else that prevented me from valuable laptop time! I mean I really DID try to get this done and had about half the chapter wrote before the end of the summer! Then school started and everything kinda went downhill from there. Then, to make matters worse, I looked back on it about a month ago, decided I didn't like it and scrapped a lot of it...so it was like starting the whole bloody chapter from scratch again! Guah! Truely a bothersome task...**

**Oh well, at least it's here now, I suppose...**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own NCIS! If I did there would be Ziva/Tony and Abby/McGee FTW! (Did you know that's WTF backwards?)**

**ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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Chapter 3

The area was even more populated than usual for a brisk Friday morning. Of course, what else was to be expected from a suburban community that had just caught wind that there was a murder scene within its midst?

The local police, while waiting for NCIS to send a team out to investigate the reported murder, had already taped off the block with thick, yellow "caution" tape. Typical for a crime scene. Of course, such a sight drew quite a crowd and, thus, there were bystanders to watch in suspense, most waiting for a glimpse at the body. Not that there weren't plenty of crimes committed daily; it was just that murders seemed to happen only every so often. Had it been anywhere more heavily populated, these citizens would have grown accustomed to the crimes committed daily. They would have learned to ignore the commotion and continue on with their lives. But, as this was no such location, the people merely stood gawking. As was character for those that had not born witness to such crimes before.

In fact, for this particular area—a subdivision road populated by middle-class citizens and college students taking time away from a nearby campus—crimes of this caliber were rarely a sight, if not ever seen at all. Especially for the aspiring students, as it were mainly them that made up the group of onlookers. Regardless, when the prospect of stepping out their houses and spotting a dead body reached the civilian's ears, most ventured away from their daily lives to get their glimpse into the dark ways of the world—though, for most of them, it would not be their last.

Still, being mainly students, they were all giddy with half excitement, half disgust as the dark Dodge Charger pulled up to the edge of the tape. The crowd, busy talking eagerly amongst themselves, parted enough to allow the vehicle to come to a stop near the edge. Three of four figures emerged without a moment's delay, packs in hand, and made their way towards the scene, efficiently sliding under the caution tape.

Tony slammed the car door shut and followed the rest of his team up the cement sidewalk, trying to keep his preoccupied mind focused back on the task at hand. He couldn't see much from where he was, but, walking closer, he saw that the edge of the road dipped into a large dirt/grass ravine—one of those long ones used for water drainage during storms.

Standing at the edge, he finally saw the body. Caucasian male. Mid-twenties, maybe. Dark hair. Unfocused, dead brown eyes. He was still wearing his navy uniform so he must have just gotten off duty. They weren't all that far from the base anyway…

From the position the body was laying in, Tony couldn't tell what exactly killed him. However, judging by the blood, that had stained both the body and the cement beneath it, and the surprised look forever plastered upon the young man's face, he figured it was a hit-and-run from behind. He would know more as soon as he got down there. Or, as soon as Ducky did, since the elderly medical examiner and his trainee were already making their way down towards the body. Tony chuckled as he realized today was one of the rare occasions in which Ducky had not yet complained about Palmer's terrible navigational skills. The two had actually arrived on time, showing up only minutes after Gibbs' team. Then again, the day still wasn't over…

"Let's go, DiNozzo," Gibbs' curt order snapped Tony back to attention.

"Right behind you, boss!" He made a quick job of breaking out of his momentary stupor and jogging to catch up with the rest of the team. He saw McGee and Ziva share a look, but intentionally ignored them, hoping they wouldn't say anything if he didn't acknowledge it.

And surprisingly, it did. Or perhaps it was just because Ducky began his brief, instantaneous observations like he always did: with a connection to a moment in his lifetime.

Either way, DiNozzo would probably never know.

* * *

Abigail Sciuto loved many things. She loved her job: working as a forensic specialist for NCIS. In her opinion, it was the most perfect job one could have. She loved gothic fashion, as could be seen by her wardrobe every day. She loved and was way past obsessed with the energy drink Caf-Pow! She loved heavy rock music, especially when she was able to work in her lab with the stereo system blaring the pounding beats at incredible volumes.

And now, as she looked down at the little girl in front of her, sweeping the last of the girl's dark hair into identical pigtails atop her head, she realized she found something else she was beginning to love. In many ways, Abby was beginning to feel like an older sibling figure to this girl already. And how long had they been in the lab? Only a couple of hours?

Kayla was just too darn cute. Within minutes of appearing at the door to her lab, Kayla had left Tony's company and dashed off from one machine to the next, eyes wide as if she was in a candy store. Tony had smiled as he watched her dart back and forth between machines before asking Abby to watch her while he went with the team to jump into another investigation.

Of course Abby hadn't refused. Especially when Kayla began bombarding her with questions about her work and each machine. Tony was barely out the door before Kayla had turned into quite the little inquisitive child. The forensic scientist was more than happy to share the basics with the girl, and was surprised often at the extent of knowledge she already possessed. It was as if she had grown up with an infinite source of information as her only plaything.

And perhaps she enjoyed Kayla's company because the child hadn't once complained about the loud music. Hadn't even asked her to turn it down. Instead, Abby found herself judging the girl's "head-banging skills." She had definitely grown up around rock, wherever it she was from.

Still, as similar as Kayla was to her, it was impossible for Abby to not notice the girl's similarity to Anthony DiNozzo. It had become apparent the moment she quoted _Star Wars_, calling herself a Padawan and Abby her Master, at least in the art of forensics, that is.

"Well, how do I look?" Kayla shook her head back and forth, letting her pigtails flop about atop her head. Her chocolate eyes peered at Abby through dark bangs.

"Like a mini-me," Abby stated proudly, turning to the table and grabbing the identical drinks. Handing one off to her new partner-in-crime, the two knocked the Caf-Pow!'s together before turning, at the same time, to the blank computer screen before them.

"Now we only need a case…" Kayla sighed. She proceeded to look at herself in the dark screen. "I'm missing something…wanna draw a spider tattoo on my neck?" Turning, she blinked her dark eyes up at the gothic scientist.

"Hmm…I'm pretty sure Uncle Tony wouldn't like that…too bad I don't have a little lab coat…"

"Yeah! How cool would that be if you did! We would look totally awesome! I could be, like, your little sister or something!"

"You could now," Abby laughed.

Kayla smiled before looking back at the blank computer screen, an equally blank look appearing on her face. "Hey Abby?"

"What's wrong, Kayla?"

"Is being an NCIS agent a…dangerous job?"

That serious question had come out of nowhere, and Abby paused before she spoke, not really sure how she could answer it without worrying the girl. "It can be," she answered finally, deciding that Kayla probably already knew this.

"But Uncle Tony's good at his job, right?"

"Are you kidding? Tony's one of the best we have!"

"Really?" Kayla turned her eyes, filled to the brim with illuminated happiness and awe again, back to Abby. "Uncle Tony's _that_ good?"

"The only one better than him is Gibbs!"

"Yeah, but that's because Gibbs is the big boss guy, right?"

Abby nodded, laughing. She suddenly glanced back and forth, surveying the area as if she had something big to tell the girl next. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"What? What?" Kayla asked excitedly, eyes bulging in anticipation.

"I know exactly when Gibbs walks into my lab."

"Woah!" Kayla's eyes widened even more. "How do you do that?"

"Whenever I find something out, something that would affect our case, I know that Gibbs is going to show up in my lab at that moment. It's like he _knows_ that I'm about to find something!"

"Really? Is he psychic?"

"I think he's just really good at his job."

"Wow…Uncle Tony isn't that good…"

"No one is as good as Gibbs," Abby agreed.

Kayla laughed and held up her drink. "Caf-Pow! time!"

"You bet'cha!" Abby knocked hers against the girl's again, sort of resembling a "cheers" toast, and the two began slurping the drink through the straws. Then, the turned back towards the blank computer screen, faces falling at the fact that they still didn't have anything to work on.

"Well this is kind of creepy," the voice behind them almost made both jump, even though it was barely audible above the pounding music (the two had been talking quite loud before in order to hear each other).

Both whipped around to face the doorway, immediately taking in the form of Tony DiNozzo standing before them.

"I see you two have been having fun," he commented, making a pointed look at the similar hair between the girls.

"Un—TONY!" Kayla cried, leaping forwards to hug him as if she hadn't seen him in days. Tony stumbled back, momentarily taken off guard by the girl's lunge. Abby took the moment to reach for the remote, turning down the volume of the music so Tony's voice could be heard. Not that Kayla or Abby had any trouble talking over it…but Tony's was of deeper pitch.

"So I guess this means you did have fun?"

"Well of _course_!" Kayla assured him, stepping back. "Abby showed me all of her awesome stuff and I got to see what a real lab looked like and look! She did my hair like hers too! Abby is so cool!"

Tony laughed. "That's good. Means I stuck you with the right person." He glanced up at the forensic specialist and smiled. "Thanks, Abby."

Abby nodded in response, but before she could answer with words, Kayla began bouncing up and down…literally.

"Wait! You're back! Does that mean you have a case? Was there a body? Did you bring back evidence? Do I get to see? Where is it? Did you catch the bad guy? Did you—"

"Woah, woah, settle down! Too many questions!" Tony stepped back, waving his hands in front of him in an attempt to calm the girl down. "Yes, we do have a case and no, you do _not_ get to see. But the evidence is coming down here to Abby while _we_ go back up to the office again." He took the girl's hand and started leading her back, nodding another nonverbal thank-you to Abby.

"Wait!" Kayla cried, slipping out of Tony's grip and running back to Abby. "Can I hug Bert one more time before we go?"

"Sure," Abby smiled, handing the girl the stuffed hippo. Kayla eagerly took the animal and squeezed it in her small arms until the loud, fake fart noise echoed. The girl smiled and laughed before handing the hippopotamus back.

"I'll can come visit you and Bert and Major Mass Spec and everyone else, right?" she looked up eagerly at Abby.

"Of course! We still have to sit here and slurp Caf-Pows! and solve cases, remember partner?" Abby gave a mock salute and stared down at Kayla with her best 'fake serious' face she could muster. Kayla matched it, attempting to hold back a laugh as she also saluted back.

"Then until then!" Kayla said happily before turning back to Tony. "All righty, Uncle Tony! NOW we can go."

Tony shook his head and moved to walk out the door again. However, he didn't get very far before Kayla stopped him again.

"Wait, wait, wait!" She dashed back to the table and grabbed the Caf-Pow! she had set down before she had tackled Tony in a hug. "I need my Caf-Pow!"

Tony raised an eyebrow as she walked back towards him and then out the lab door, still slurping down the caffeinated beverage.

"If she becomes addicted to that stuff, I blame you," Tony warned Abby, though not with much force behind the words. Abby merely smiled innocently.

The little shout came from the elevator. "Are you coming, Uncle Tony?"

Tony hastened to follow his niece, shaking his head as he did so. "Yeah, I'm coming. And remember, it's just Tony!"

"Okay, 'just Tony!' Whatever you say!" Kayla's laughter rang out in the hallway, even above Abby's music. Then, they were both gone, heading back upstairs to the rest of the team.

Abby was left alone as she turned her music back up. That is, until the evidence would arrive and she would be up to her head in tasks that were crucial to solving their case. And boy was she excited to get to work. Still, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if Kayla was to come and help. She didn't know how much the girl would be, but something about her…about having her around…it was happy. The little girl might not know it, but she exerted an aura of pure innocence and happiness wherever she went. Abby was pretty sure Kayla could brighten even the grumpiest man's day with a single smile.

But that wasn't all about the girl. Like Abby had realized before, she loved a lot of things in her life, but now she was just beginning to realize how much she really liked kids. At least, this kid in particular. She wondered vaguely, should she have kids one day, what they would be like…what her family would be like…then she immediately stopped herself when she remembered she had work to do instead of daydreaming.

No, for now she was alone. Alone to do her work. That didn't mean she couldn't be like an older sister to Kayla…but for now…

She glanced down at the stuffed hippo in her arms and smiled. "It's just you and me again, Bert."

And she could have sworn she heard Major Mass Spec beep behind them.

* * *

**Well there's the next update for you...I'm going to try and work on making the chapters a little longer...with more content...I'm just still kinda working out the bugs in the storyline but when I do, rest assured there will be better chapters! XD**

**As for this chapter, well, I was a little worried about it. I tried a different approach when it came to beginning the chapter and describing the events taking place. I also was a little scared that the characters, mainly Abby, would be a little OOC...though in a lot of ways, apparently since people tell me so all the time, I am very similar to Abby so I kind of just wrote what I would say...keeping in mind Abby's character. I don't know if it worked or did not (I find myself overly critical of my work). **

**Ah well, what's done is done. And once again I wholeheartedly apologize for my lack of updates for a whole half of a year! Guah! I still am upset about that! But here's the update so REVIEW, my duckies! Review and have apples!**

**Because everyone STILL knows that my reviewers get apples! XD**

**- Lex**

**~Nozomi!~**


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